News anchors hide under studio desk as earthquake hits LA (VIDEO)

A 4.4 magnitude earthquake rocked Los Angeles, California, Monday morning, strong enough to drive two news anchors in the area into hiding under their desks during a live broadcast.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the
earthquake was the most powerful one to hit the Los Angeles area
since a 5.5 magnitude temblor struck in 2008. The quake was
reportedly felt along a wide range of Southern California, and at
least six aftershocks have been felt since it first hit around
6:25 a.m.

Despite the quake’s reach – one local resident said it “felt
like a bomb going off underneath” his house – the Los
Angeles Times is reporting no injuries or damages just yet.

“We did our initial survey and it was felt only. No reports
of any damage,” said L.A. County Fire Supervisor Michael
Pittman.

The earthquake’s epicenter was near the neighborhood of Westwood,
where the University of California, Los Angeles is located.

Although earthquakes below a magnitude of 5.5 aren’t expected to
do much damage, the event was strong enough to interrupt multiple
news broadcasts as they were live on the air. In one case at a
local KTLA broadcast, the anchors – Chris Schauble and Megan
Henderson – hid under their news desks as a precautionary
measure. Dr. Lucy jones of the USGS said the scene may have
looked humorous, but that what they did was the right decision.

“I was very proud to see the KTLA anchors going under their
desk during the earthquake, that was absolutely the right thing
to do,” she told the news outlet. “People who are
laughing at them for doing it, you don’t know at the beginning
how big an earthquake’s going to be. You might feel a little
silly doing it for the small ones, but when the big one happens,
it means you stay alive after the lights come crashing
down.”

The news station at CBS Los Angeles could also be seen visibly
shaking in the background during the broadcast, though those
anchors chose to stay in their seats.

For some residents, though, the earthquake was nothing they
couldn’t sleep past and ignore. Olga Rosas of Valley Village told
the LA Times she ran outside as soon as the quake ended, only to
find no one else there with her.

“I can’t believe it, I go outside and all these people are
still sleeping,” she said with a laugh. “I guess people
here are used to it.”